TERRE HAUTE — Three out of every four years in Indiana, there is an election each spring and fall. These are important times when officials are selected for a wide array of government positions to represent the interests of the people.
The success of self-government is dependent on an active and engaged voting public, so one would think the voting process would be made as easy and accessible as possible.
In Indiana, however, that is not the case. In fact, the voting process in Indiana can be downright frustrating, especially if you’ve never voted here before, have recently moved your place of residence, or don’t currently possess a photo ID.
Case in point: If you are not yet registered to vote in Indiana, or you need to change your registration to reflect an address change, time is quickly running out if you intend to vote in upcoming municipal elections. The deadline to register or change your registration is Tuesday, Oct. 9. That’s nearly a full month before Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Why so early? That’s a good question with no good answer, other than “we’ve always done it that way.” With advanced technology, there is certainly no good reason for such an early registration deadline. Still, the practice persists.
The matter of the voter ID is another confounding issue that is a recent development. A few short years ago, the Legislature adopted a law, promoted by the Indiana Secretary of State and others in his political party, to require citizens to show an approved photo ID, such as a driver’s license, at their polling place before voting.
The purported reason for the law? Prevention of voter fraud, they say. Significantly, voter fraud of the type a photo ID would prevent has never been shown to be a problem in Indiana. On the other hand, the requirement serves as yet another obstacle that could keep voter turnout at troubling low levels.
There are other clunky features of our state’s voting system, including a requirement to vote in the precinct in which you are registered. If you happen to work elsewhere, you will have to find a way to get to your polling place within the specified hours, or go through the absentee voting process, which is itself daunting.
We must note that Vigo County has been contributing to the voter registration morass in recent years because of major renovations at the courthouse. The voter registration office conveniently located on the courthouse’s ground floor has been transplanted to an unmarked building at the northeast corner of Sixth and Wabash, directly across from First Financial Plaza in downtown Terre Haute.
Hint: The building formerly housed a drugstore, and later Nancy’s Downtown Mall (which has since relocated). The voter registration office will move back to the courthouse when renovations are complete. That day can’t come soon enough.
If you live outside Vigo County, you must register to vote by Oct. 9 in the clerk’s office of your county courthouse. If you have any questions about your registration, by all means contact the voter registration office or your county clerk.
While the state doesn’t always make it a convenient process, we encourage citizens to register and vote in all elections in which they are eligible. For the sake of good government, don’t let the obstacles throw you off track.
Editorials
Related Photos
Discussion
TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Prepare yourselves to vote
Process not easy, but you must plow ahead
- Editorials
-
-
EDITORIAL: Drug-testing bill lacks fairness and decency
The current session of the Indiana Legislature has produced plenty of initiatives that play well to the majority party’s base.
-
EDITORIAL: Keep religion out of science class
An uncertain fate remains for an Indiana Senate bill that would, if it were to become law, allow public schools to teach creationism and other origin-of-life theories in their classes. But this fight may have already been grounded.
-
EDITORIAL: Delivering on infrastructure
With national, state and local economies showing distinct signs of recovery from the Great Recession of 2008, it is good to hear Mayor Duke Bennett sounding optimistic about Terre Haute and its immediate future.
-
EDITORIAL: Volunteer ‘army’ serving the needs of children
You know, of course, that casa means house. But do you also know that its all-capitals cousin, CASA, means home?
-
EDITORIAL: Big dreams do come true
Consider this Super Bowl Sunday to be proof that anything is possible.
-
EDITORIAL: Big ‘kick’ from a native son
Every player in Sunday’s Super Bowl is from somewhere. But not every player remembers where he’s from and reaches out to consistently help those back home. Not like Steve Weatherford. Make that not like Terre Haute’s Steve Weatherford.
-
EDITORIAL: Smoking ban good enough
When it comes to getting things done in the Indiana General Assembly, progress is often measured in baby steps. Indeed, it can take years to achieve even meager accomplishments.
-
EDITORIAL: United Way’s strong reputation helps sustain community trust
It would be foolish in any community to take “positives” for granted, but it’s easy to understand how a casual observer would assume that United Way of the Wabash Valley will always come through with flying colors.
-
EDITORIAL: Nothing sexy about human trafficking
When kickoff comes at the 2012 Super Bowl, expectations will be high for a fun, competitive, fanatical contest between the two survivors of the NFL’s regular season.
-
EDITORIAL: The law’s good ‘Shepard’
Under the radar and against the backdrop of the fractious right-to-work battle going on in Indianapolis, one of state’s leading public servants delivered his valedictory in typical understated, even quiet, style two weeks ago. And before Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard slips away into retirement, his work needs to be acknowledged and praised.
-
EDITORIAL: Cops at risk
Indiana lawmakers are playing with a loaded gun in a bill that passed the Indiana Senate Monday, 45-5.
-
TRIBUNE-STAR EDITORIAL: Helping your community, a few mouse clicks at a time
When you type WabashValleyGives.org into your web browser, hundreds of opportunities to help your local community will open on the screen before you.
-
EDITORIAL: Raves around the town
To begin the week, we are raving about these recent pieces of local news:
-
EDITORIAL: Let Hoosiers have a say on right-to-work bill
Indiana legislators, both Republican and Democrat, may claim to know the will of the people on right-to-work.
-
EDITORIAL: Thin ice winter’s deadly scourge
Six-year-old Trevor Wayne Young of Nashville, Ind., and 50-year-old Allen D. Johnson of Galva, Ill., probably had little in common — except the way they died.
-
EDITORIAL: Meeting needs at St. Ann's
The caliber of a community often is revealed by its efforts to help its least fortunate citizens.
-
EDITORIAL: A sweet deal for Amazon.com
That loud lip-smack on the cheek you heard echoing from Indianapolis last week was the sound of Gov. Mitch Daniels kissing off on what amounts to another sweetheart deal between Indiana and Amazon.com, the online retailing giant.
-
EDITORIAL: A new era for growth
The promised announcement of a major new industry for the former Pfizer property in southern Vigo County turned out to be well worth the wait.
-
EDITORIAL: Transparency a worthy goal
Do taxpayers have the right to know specific details of contracts between elected school boards and superintendents they hire to run their operations?
-
EDITORIAL: Shakir Bell’s success gives boost to Sycamore football
Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
-
EDITORIAL: Inspiration for the future
Hope inspires progress. It’s the fuel for a better future.
-
EDITORIAL: Put teeth in public access laws
Indiana’s laws governing public access, as good as they are, lack something important — teeth. There are no significant consequences for agencies or employees who intentionally violate them.
-
EDITORIAL: Time for teamwork in Sullivan
The beginning of a new mayoral term in any community is — or should be — a time when the talk of the town is rife with ideas, improvements and changes.
-
EDITORIAL: Lawmakers should leave IHSAA, high school basketball alone
In an idyllic world, Indiana could restore its fabled single-class high school basketball state tournament, and thousands of fans would pour into gymnasiums from Angola to Corydon in hopes of witnessing another “Milan Miracle” year after year after year.
-
EDITORIAL: ‘Anthem’ proposal way off key
Remember Faith Hill’s impassioned rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl in 2000?
-
EDITORIAL: Back from the access brink
It took almost a week, but Gov. Daniels finally stepped up and did the right thing on Wednesday, rescinding new rules aimed at restricting the number of people allowed in the Statehouse during this session of the General Assembly.
-
EDITORIAL: Poor decision by local Dems
By a little after 4 this afternoon, Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett will have been sworn in for a second term and City Councilman-elect Robert All will have taken the oath of office for the first time.
-
EDITORIAL: Be it resolved …
Resolutions for 2012 are top-of-mind today.
-
EDITORIAL: Another slice of Classic history
Baseball is the so-called American pastime, but to Hoosiers and to our Illinois neighbors, it’s basketball that gets a community’s blood pumping. And no form of roundball does that any more intimately than high school basketball, whether boys or girls. College hoops is great, but nothing quite beats the packed, overheated confines of a high school gym when a tight game turns on every possession, every shot, every rebound, every pass, every defensive position. The sing-song of cheerleaders, the shrillness of a ref’s whistle, the squeak of gym shoes on hardwood, the shouted instructions from the benches, the aroma of popcorn — those form a Midwestern tableau unlike any other.
-
EDITORIAL: A strategy for growth
There are many ways to market an area in order to spur economic growth. Some may work better than others, but there is no perfect approach. The essential thing is to have a strategy and to implement it.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
EDITORIAL: Drug-testing bill lacks fairness and decency
Pop Music Superstar Whitney Houston Dies at 48
Raw Video: Whitney Houston's Last Performance
Police: Houston Found Dead in Her Hotel Room
Fans 'Speechless' Over Houston's Death
Reaction to Houston's Death at Clive Davis Party
Recording Superstar Whitney Houston Dead at 48
Paul Suffers Narrow Loss to Romney in Maine
Palin Brings Anti-Washington Message to CPAC
Maine GOP Chairman Says Romney Wins Caucuses
Snow Strands Italian Towns
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
Latest Jason Wu Collection Shows Chinese Roots
ShowBiz Minute: Madonna, Beresford-Redman, Pawsc
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Raw Video: Rough Seas Stop Oil Removal
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
The Pits: Israelis Spit Olives for Glory
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Exclusive Video - Whitney's Bodybag
Girl rescued after avalanche buries village in Kosovo
Whitney's Final Days - EXCLUSIVE
Raw Video: Aurora Borealis As Seen From Space
First glimpse of Blue Ivy Carter
Lusetich: AT&T Rd. 3 recap
Peek inside Barbie's closet
Romney Tops Santorum in CPAC Straw Poll
Madonna's Daughter Shaves Head
Angry Dad Shoots Teens Laptop
Absolute Lin-sanity
Test on Comforter in Powell Unit Shows Blood
Hero Driver Saves Kids From Burning Bus
Funeral to be held for Powell boys
Sandusky on having to stay inside and people turning on him
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Woolly Mammoth Caught on Camera?
Did JLo 'Assault' Marc Anthony on Camera?
Christie Brinkley's Runway Slip
